This week in comics: Bendis, Rob Liefeld, Being Awesome & More

Some days I come home, and find that the comic book industry has released little news of note. And then there are days like Tuesday.

* Brian Michael Bendis will leave the Avengers books next year. I cannot tell a lie: I love many of Bendis' early works. Fortune & Glory was great, Ultimate Spider-man (especially the first arc) was stunning and Sam & Twitch was much, MUCH better than any Sam & Twitch comic had a right to be. Plus, I had a letter published in the letter pages. Why? Because I'm awesome, that's why.

But his Avengers run... uhhh. Not my thing. Too much talkey, not enough 'splodey. Plus, it doesn't feel like an Avengers book, it feels like Marvel's Greatest Heroes Team-Up. I'm a traditionalist, what can I say. I think Spidey isn't a team player and Wolverine going off and killing people in Uncanny X-Force makes it hard to figure out how he can actually be on The Avengers and not get, y'know, arrested. And look, I can see how some people like looking at Spider-Woman, but come on... I can only take so much Jessica Jones. I mean, Jessica Drew. Wait, wasn't Jessica Jones based on Jessica Drew? So how are they both in the b-

Never mind.

I will give Bendis credit for one thing, though: Luke Cage is not a C-lister anymore. He made Cage a player. It is one of the few successful pushes for a minority character at Marvel in the last ten years.

So, Bendis is leaving. Someone else will be taking over. It's a change that's overdue, and I'm happy to see it happen. Given the downward spiral that have been the store's Avengers sales for the last 6 months, I don't think I'm in the minority on this one.

* ONCE UPON A TIME on NBC is by some of the LOST writers. Confession: I'm a huge LOST fan. HUUUGE. That said, I'm also a FABLES fan. It looked to a lot of people that NBC had ripped off the great Vertigo comic. So, what did Bill Williamson, creator of Fables do? He did an interview at CBR, telling people to lay off. What a guy.

Go. Read.

* I've been bad. I shouldn't talk about it, 'cause if I give away my secrets, you won't come to the blog and read my posts. Which is funny, because I write two entries a month, if I'm lucky.

I've been a bad comic manager. There's this comic that came out a month back, and I've been making people read it. Not buying it, but reading it. In the store. And it's... well, it's not your average comic. It's part sci-fi, part parody, part love story and part world-breaker. Reading this comic, will warp your mind. It will change the way you see things. It will alter your perception of reality.

Most importantly (and really, this is the main point), you'll put the book down, ask me "Why... why?" and then put your head in your hands and sob while I laugh hysterically at you. Amanda will laugh too, if she's around. She's like my little padawan of sadism. I'm so proud of her.

So, by all means, please go read OUR LOVE IS REAL.

(Just so there's no confusion, this is not a book for anyone under the age of 18. Oh, and I love it.)

* I like the idea that The Den is a place to get away from politics, religion, the real world, and other hot topic issues. We're an escape from the real world. At least, that's the way I like to think of it. I know, it's a crazy idea and I'm nuts for bringing it up, but that's the kinda guy I am: Nuts. Awesome. And slightly sadistic, in case you couldn't tell from the previous item.

Where was I? Oh yeah. Politics. So, as some of you might know, a couple people here and there have been getting together for sleepovers in a couple cities across the planet. And by "couple", I mean "thousands" and by "sleepovers", I mean "Occupy". See what I did there? I was sarcastic and you didn't see it coming. I told you I was awesome.

So, there's an Occupy Comics book coming out. It's not something that will be offered by our distributor, but the talent included in the project is stellar. It's one of those fancy-shmancy Kickstarter things.  Go take a look, and maybe pledge a couple dollars towards putting it together.

* This indy project caught my eye. I have no idea who any of these creators are, and who is publishing it, but I want:

Death Sentence

* In the ongoing debate about the role that digital comics plays in the comic industry, there's been a lot of conversation about "digital day-and-date", and whether digital comics will end up putting comic book stores out of business. I'm not going to lie, I get a little concerned sometimes that ten years from now, everything will be electronic and noone will come in to yell at me that they didn't get their Deadpool comic that week. I don't think comic/games/popculture stores are going to disappear, but I think there's some darwinism at play here: The stores that make themselves a destination for the customer, will get the tall green dollars. Those that don't, won't.

But then there's the creator side. What's it like to be a comic creator, watching the industry grudgingly move towards digital day-and-date? How does that tie into sales over the last few years?

Brian Wood, writer of DMZ, Northlanders, and the soon-to-be-published Wolverine mini-series, writes on his Tumblr about some of these topics, in lieu of the brou-haha that erupted around Dark Horse's digital day and date policy over the weekend. and a couple loud-mouthed retailers, about Dark Horse's digital day-and-date policy. Wood is always very honest about his work and his career, without taking shots at others. This is a great read for anyone who enjoys hearing about the "other" side of comics, as well for any future creators out there.

Highly recommended. Make with the clicky.

* And last but not least... Rob Liefeld. I don't know that there's a more polarizing figure in comics. Is he crazy? Is he a genius? By all accounts, he's the nicest guy you'll ever meet, and loves comics. I mean _loves_ comics. A buddy of mine had him in for a signing at his west coast store, and swore to me that Liefeld was the best salesman he'd ever had; The guy was pointing people towards great books left and right, many of which didn't have Liefeld's name on them.

But the internet loves to hate, and every time an article or interview pops up online, the comments section goes wild with "he can't draw feet" or "That pose looked awesome in 1995" or other low-quality snark. All that said, he's gotten 4 issues of The Infinite and 4 issues of Hawk & Dove out on time in the last 4 months. Any other Image founders even coming close to that?

So, in the spirit of fairness, I invite you to read this longish blog posting on Liefeld's site, where he talks about his work in the 90's, the time off he took around the turn of the century, and what it was like, several years later, to go online and find out that he had become one of the most hated artists in all of comics. It's fascinating and more than a little honest, to see inside the head of one of comics' most intriguing figures.

Reading that makes me want to fly him out for a signing. I wonder how many people would show up?

"How to beat the Haters" by Rob Liefeld

Looking Ahead: January & February

Previews came out last week, chock-full of new comic-y goodness that will be arriving in 2012. I popped open the large tome and found some cool reprints, new comics, and dollar books that I think a lot of you will dig. I've add Comixology links for our loyal Reservists, too.

Enjoy.

"But my feeling is what Gotham really does is challenge you in these ways that shake you to the core." - Scott Snyder, from an interview at CBR.

* If you've been enjoying the new Batman series by Scott Snyder or All-Star Western featuring Jonah Hex in late 19th century Gotham, then BATMAN GATES OF GOTHAM is a must-have.

Gates of Gotham sets the stage for the history of Gotham and the Five Families. It details some of the back-story and relationships between the Waynes, the Cobblepots and the rest of the Gotham families. This trade paperback collects the entire mini-series at a reasonable price and is a GREAT Batman story. Highly recommended.

Kudos to DC for releasing it first as a trade paperback instead of a hardcover.

Comixology link and more information can be found here.

* WASTELAND is a post-apocalyptic series that teases a dark future with lots of question. While the book itself has been solid, it's struggled with coming out on time over the last 18 months. The creative team and publisher recently put out a press release that addressed the issues with candor, and announced that issue #33 is going to be $1. A new jumping-on point for a series tabbed to go 60 issues, #33 might not be the best place to start, but for a dollar, it's a good gamble. Vertigo and Dark Horse fans, this will be a book you might enjoy. I've been reading the series for years, and it's distinctly different than anything else on the market.

It's a dollar! Give it a shot!

Read an interview with the writer, Antony Johnston at CBR.

Comixology link and more information can be found here.

* It feels like Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips has been creating great crime/noir fiction since the dawn of time, so I'm stoked to see that they're doing a new ongoing series entitled FATALE. The difference between this and his other crime work, is that this comic will have a supernatural bent. If you like Criminal, Sin City, The Usual Suspects, 100 Bullets or any crime noir movie/book/tv show EVER, then you're going to enjoy this series. Two of comics' best creators, who've worked with each other for a long time, doing their best work? This is going to be a great book.

A video clip from Brubaker plus several finished pages can be seen here.

Comixology link and more information can be found here.

* Ridiculously long title aside, WOLVERINE AND X-MEN: ALPHA AND OMEGA looks very cool. Quentin Quire and Wolverine square off in this mini-series written by Brian Wood. Brian hasn't done much superhero or work-for-hire books in awhile, but coming off of his DMZ and Northlander runs at Vertigo, he's doing this mini-series and he's working on Conan at Dark Horse next year. I think this will be one of the better mini's to come from Marvel in quite some time. Given that Kid Omega (Quire) played a huge role in Schism, I think this series is going great. Wood has a different sensibility than a lot of the guys at Marvel, and I think it'll show.

Comixology link and more information can be found here.

Don't die Optimus, I.. I... I think I love you.

* IDW relaunches the Transformers books with two new ongoings: TRANSFORMERS ROBOTS IN DISGUISE and TRANSFORMERS MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE

Look, this is a series about alien robots who transform into cars and guns. Do I really need to sell this? :)

Comixology link and more information for More Than Meets The Eye and for Robots In Disguise.:

* A couple months ago, a Kickstarter project was started to raise funds for an entirely female-created comic project called WOMANTHOLOGY. The fundraising was a HUGE success, and here is the result: THREE HUNDRED PAGES of female-created comics. The price tag is high - $50 - but proceeds from this book will be going to charity.

This will be a great book to give in time for Valentine's Day. Hint hint, gentlemen.

Comixology link and more information can be found here.

I liked her better with the mohawk.

* SNARK ATTACK: AVENGERS #21

Storm joins the Avengers! What, Maggot and Stacy X weren't available? I mean, haven't most of the X-Men and FF already become Avengers already? Sheesh.

Come on, Marvel. This the best you can do?

I'm not giving you the Comixology link. I'm sorry, I just can't.

 

NYC Comic Con... The Aftermath

NYC Comic Con

So Comic Con is now over and we have survived... although Zombie Petz are still dead and Iron Age may be Jaded (Ha, just a play on the titles... it has been a long weekend)! We had a chance to talk to MANY people from all over the area and beyond, and I thought we would share some of what we heard at the booth.  I know that our roving staff may have more to talk about the show itself, but I was trapped at the booth and have a lot to share about that experience.


One huge comment that we heard was: "How come you guys aren't at Cross County in Yonkers?" or "Are you the same Dragon's Den that was in Cross County in Yonkers?" Matter of fact, the Owner of a fantastic comedy club in Midtown called Ha, used to shop at the Dragon's Den in Yonkers! Oh and if you get down to Midtown, the Dueling Pianos at the club were fantastic!

Another huge comment that was heard many, many, MANY times was: "Where is the Wizards of the Coast booth?"  Wizards of the Coast, WotC, did not have a booth this year was the answer.  WotC did send a single staff member to run some demo games and give out some promo items.  He stopped by the booth on more then one occasion, but their lack of presence was felt and we heard about it from many people/players. Hey WotC you might want to come next year... you were missed.

I think one of the big things we are thinking about for future cons (gaming, comic, pop culture, or anything else), we will be thinking about the lay out of the booth and product.  We notice that some product moved well, and other product very slowly.  We also noticed that some product areas we were some of the only people really carrying.  There are many things I will keep the same with how the event went, but I have started the mental list on how to make it better next time! If you have ever stood for 9+ hours on a cement floor, you know what I'm talking about!

So I know that Scott is working on a review of Comic Con from his trip on the floor.  He spent multiple days walking the floor, attending panels/seminars, and doing the show... not from the booth perspective.  So stay tuned for more information about Comic Con.  We promise that there will be plenty to read.

Enjoy, and hope to see you at the show next year!


Sean "Striderlotr" Banks

Scott goes to NYC

I've been waiting for NYCC since last year; I'd gone for a day and had the time of my life. This year, I was much more prepared: I was staying with a friend in Brooklyn, I had some meetings scheduled, and I was looking forward to enjoying NYC while representing the store.

While the rest of the employees would be going down early Thursday morning, I headed down late Wednesday nightNow, as I've said to some of you, I'm a guy who likes being behind the wheel, but when I get too close to NYC, I turn into Mr. Road Rage. I'm fortunate in that I left so late that the traffic was minimal, the directions were perfect (thank you Google Maps) and I found a parking spot right next to my friend's apartment building. As a precocious evil infant likes to say, "Victory is(was) mine!".

My first challenge on Wedneday night was holding off the peer pressure of my friends to go out and have "one or two" drinks. We all know what one or two drinks turns into, right? I wasn't having any of it, so I stayed in my swanky Williamsburg pad and got some sleep.

--

Thursday morning rolled around, and I had my first adventure on the subway. I had to switch between 2 different subways. Did I mention that I was a complete neophyte when it comes to this whole subway thing? To my surprise it went much better than I thought and I got to the Javitts Center in time for the Diamond Comic Distributors Brunch. Diamond is the main source of all the American-published comics, and the elephant in the room when it comes to distribution. Several times a year, they hold breakfasts like this at NYCC or San Diego or some of their own retreats, and use it as an opportunity to speak with retailers.

I generally have mixed feelings about these kinds of things. They don't always come across as productive, and seem more "ra-ra, look at us" than necessary. There's often a distinct lack of professionalism at these events, but that might be a personal bias of mine; after being a teacher, I often think HOW you act is just as important as the message you're trying to get across.

He said ATROCIOUS, not ATROCITUS. Pay attention, puny human

The brunch was held in a much prettier location than year's sub-basement facility, but the sound and audio in the large glass-filled room was ATROCIOUS. Halfway into the brunch, I turned to a colleague and said "This is the third time I've been to one of these and I hope it's my last." I'll spare you the details, if only because I couldn't hear most of them (and it wasn't for a lack of trying). However, Dark Horse announced next year's Free Comic Book Day offerings would include Star Wars AND Serenity. Best news ever, right there.

So, the brunch was a complete bust.

I spent the afternoon in a couple panels. One was very, very good; a great session on running events, and the other was a general-purpose customer service talk. I was disappointed that a panel on LGBT comics was cancelled without notice, I was hoping to get more info on those books. I took a lot of great ideas away from that afternoon, and hope that the audio for the events panel becomes available in the near future, so I can pass it on to the rest of the Den staff. We do so much business with events and the tables, that every good idea we can steal helps us along the way.

The folks running NYCC decided to create a separate entrance for Pros and Press, but to my surprise, the line to get in for the 4:00 opening was loooooong. I got in line around 3:45, but was inside by 4:05 or so. That line really hustled once they got the doors opened.Nice job, Javitts and Reed Exhibition folks!

And once I finally got inside and took a look around, my mind was blown.

--

A life-size Optimus Prime! The Avengers helicarrier booth! Artists Alley!  There was so much to process and not enough time. I walked over to our booth to check how things were set-up, and I was very impressed; they'd put everything together quite nicely, and had things ready to go. I thought bringing the Batman neon sign was particularly inspired, it really stood out. I made my way over to our friends at ZombiePetz and spoke with Ryan for a bit. I caught up with him a couple times during the con, and he was absolutely insane with sketches and commissions. We carry the ZombiePetz t-shirts at the store, and couldn't be happier for Ryan and the success he's getting.

I waited in line for a while and got one of our Action Comics variants signed by Jim Lee, who was a perfect gentleman. He even remembered me from when we met at the New 52 Retailer Roundtable at DC about 3 months ago. Great guy.

I walked through Artists Alley for a bit, making a mental note of where certain artists and writers were. I immediately kicked myself for not writing down in advance where some of them lived.

By around 6:30pm, I was ready to call it a day. I knew Friday would be a long one, but I had some time to kill before a late dinner with a group of retailers and the DC Sales department. I walked around NYC for a bit, before meeting up with everyone at Hill Country Barbecue which was just awesome. I got to hang with our DC Sales Rep, Stewart, who had shaved his awesome Hulk Hogan-inspired beard (BOO!) and shoot the bull with other store owners. I then took the L back to Brooklyn, and prepared for Day 2 of NYCC Madness.

--

On Friday I got up earlier than my roommates, as I had been invited to a retailer-only breakfast with a couple people from Image Comics. I don't know whether many people responded to the invites or some people slept in (it was at 9am), but when I got to the restaurant, there were 3 other retailers, the Image Sales Guy, and the Publisher of Image! So... small crowd, which meant I got some good face time with one of the decision makers at Image. Even with our "small but getting bigger fast" store status, my feedback was valued and listened to. That felt good, and it was great hearing about some of the books coming out over the next year. (None of which I can talk about, sorry).

By the time breakfast had ended, and I had gotten into the con, it was well after 11, almost 12 noon. I headed over to DC to thank Stewart for dinner, walked to our booth to check in, and then started roaming the Con, looking for artists and writers. This is where my lack of Con experience caused me the largest waste of time. So many writers and artists will be at their booths for an hour here, or an hour there; some put up signs, some leave their assistants. So while there were people I found right off the bat (Brian Wood, writer of DMZ, Northlanders, just announced Conan and soon to be announced Wolverine), others proved to be more elusive.

I had a wonderful conversation with the folks who work for Peter Beagle, writer of The Last Unicorn. We discussed the possibility of him coming to the store to do a signing next year when they re-release the movie in limited release across the country. The comic adapatation of The Last Unicorn is GORGEOUS, and highly recommended to everyone, ever. Plus, IDW is releasing a graphic novel adaptation of the sequel to The Last Unicorn, "Two Hearts".

I spent more time than I wish tracking down the maker of the Popfun glasses we carry in the store. I made at least four trips there to meet him, but each time he had "just left" or was in a meeting somewhere. It was too hectic to talk for too long, but it was nice to meet the guy who's been making all the cool glassware that's been selling so well.

I waited in line again at the DC booth for Jim Lee (had more books to sign), but he showed up late, and the line was too long, and I didn't make the cut-off point. That was disappointing, but only fair as I'd made the cut-off point the day before.

I hung out at the ComicsPro booth for a while and schmoozed with other retailers. Meeting other retailers and talking shop is one of my favorite things, and a source of great ideas. I got a bunch more little tidbits and interesting sales tactics from a couple people, and I look forward to putting some of them to use at The Den, if I can squeeze some extra space out of the comics wall.

Brian Wood was alone at his table, and I caught up to him and talked shop. He's wrapping things up at Vertigo, and doing Conan for Dark Horse, with long time creative partner Becky Cloonan. I re-read his DMZ before I went down to NYC and it's superb. A great work of art. We talked about him doing a signing up at The Den, as he travels up to our area a couple times a year.

I waited in line for a couple writers (Abnett and Lanning), only to have them have to leave for a panel. My man crush on DnA was denied! Curses!

Sadly, I approached one or two creators about doing a signing up at our store, and was rebuffed. I got some attitude or "Ohh, I don't know"-type bs. That didn't win any points with me, and needless to say, they will not be invited our way any time soon. Sorry comic creators, we can't all be as big or important as Mid-Town. Pssh.

Along the way, I bumped into Seth Green, and saw Tom Morello checking out Artist's Alley. I'm not going to lie, I almost started singing some RATM lyrics, but kept my inner rage-fueled fan bottled up.

I headed over to the Marvel booth to check things out, and was blow away by how big the backdrop was. I confess to being disappointed that Marvel was more interested in pushing The Avengers movie than the comics themselves. That was a bummer, especially when you consider how comic-centric DC's booth was.

I caught up with Kieron Gillen, who some of you might know as the writer of Uncanny X-Men #1. He's a Brit, so I won't hold it over his head, but he was a cool guy. We ended up having an entertaining conversation about A-ha later in the day. (Much later. See below).

I did a bit more wandering, and realized it was almost the end of my day. I had plans to meet some retailers out for drinks later, but I decided to head back to Brooklyn for a bit to recuperate. Hours later, I was out with retailers, shooting the bull, and hearing gossip I didn't need to know. Then I headed down to the iFanboy party where Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie were DJ'g. The bar was wayyyy too small for the comics crowd, but I spotted Jason Aaron (his beard is mighty), and a couple people from Comics Alliance chilling out. I grabbed Kieron and we started talking about A-Ha's Take On Me. We found out that we both love 80's music, being only 6 months apart in age, but Kieron's knowledge of 80's pop music is INSANE. As in, trumps mine. The man is an 80's music afficionado.

By now, it was after midnight, and I may or may not have had too many drinks. I deny nothing. The swanky Brooklyn pad was calling out to me, and it was time to sleep. L train to Williamsburg, 3 block walk, and I was out.

--

Since the original plan was for me to work Thursday and Friday, I got Saturday and Sunday off. I lounged around Brooklyn on Saturday and caught up with friends Saturday night. I went over early on Sunday for an hour and did some more wandering around the show, then went back to Williamsburg, packed my bags, and headed north for the long sojourn to Poughkeepsie.

--

Some final thoughts:

* As someone who's never "done" a big con before, I made the right decision not to plan too far ahead. That left my schedule flexible to see and do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted.

* That said, I wish I'd done a little more research into learning where creators live. Getting crestors to do signings is easy when they live in NYC. When they've recently moved to Oregon, not so much.

* I've gotten some feedback from customers and other pros that the aisles were too small and it was too crowded. Since I stayed away on Saturday, I can only imagine how nuts it was, but I don't think this is something that's going to change. The Javitts is the only place to hold a convention of this type in NYC, but it's not really the best venue.

* Big props to the rest of the staff at the Den for the traveling, packing, unpacking, breaking down, putting together, and then doing it all over again on Sunday.

* Saw a bunch of reservists and regulars while I was down there. Nice job representing the Dragon's Den, guys!

New York Comic Con 2011 Update

So I was thinking about the staff that are already down in NYC setting up the booth and attending the brunch or panels today, and I thought about a few things I missed yesterday with the main post.

Come to the booth and scan our code! Not able to, play along with the home game... or just check out the code and enjoy what we are saying from the show:

We will have the code on shirts at the show, but to see the cool design, you'll have to stop by the booth and see us walking around.  We will even have some of these very cool limited edition t-shirts at the booth!  What more info... SCAN the code!

We also have a few more items to bring with us that you might find very interesting.  If you are a fan of the Walking Dead and the new series starting soon, check out the Walking Dead board games... yes board games, also the etched pint glasses and steins!

We also brought many other games including the Resident Evil Deck Building Game! Such a great game with 3 different methods of play! 

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks

The New 52: The Reviews, Mr. Rood, and The Rage

So, September is over and wow, what a month. Easily the best of month of comics we've had in a long time. It was exciting and crazy and nuts and fun and just... wow.  I'm not going to lie, I was a bit nervous about the orders we'd placed for the New 52. As most of you noticed, we got a LOT of comics in this month. We placed those orders a couple months ahead of time, and had no idea how much interest there would be. Fortunately for us, there's been plenty.

In addition to new and returning customers, I've also gotten a lot of questions, both in-store and in e-mail, about the New 52. Now that September is in the books, I figured I'd post some general answers and information.

(I want to quickly thank loyal employee Brittany, her paramour Garrett, and miniature artist extraordinaire Mark Lake 2.0 who went to New Orleans for some game thing, and brought me back a hand-rolled stogie.)

So, *lights cigar*, it's the weekend, let's do this.

--

Q: You guys ordered a lot of the New 52. How come you have more than other stores?

A: I can't speak for the ordering practices of other businesses. However, my sense is that a lot of comic stores played their numbers close to the vest. They didn't think this was going to do well, or they didn't have the cashflow to go in deep on the #1's. I can't blame them, noone gets rich off of comics anymore. The last couple years have been rough on everyone, it's a tough business.

Q: Why did you guys think it was going to succeed, and they didn't?

A: Because this was the first Action Comics and Detective Comics #1 in over 60 years.

Q: But DC and Marvel re-start all the tim-

A: Don't mean to cut you off, but that's not completely accurate. In the last 15 years, Marvel has gone to the re-launch well again and again. I think the Avengers books have been relaunched with 4 #1's since 1998? Maybe 5 if you include Heroes Reborn? Thor and Cap have gotten at least 3 themselves. Over at DC, Green Lantern got a new #1, Flash has gotten a couple (botched) re-launches, but Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman have kept their corresponding numbering for decades.

You can say that Marvel has been guilty of numerous re-launches (too many, really), but DC has not been as egregious in this area.

Q: So it was because of Action Comics and Detective Comics #1?

A: Yes and no.

Q: But you said-

A: I was being snarky.

Q: Shocker.

A:... Is there a question?

Q: So why did you order so many?

A: John Rood convinced me.

Q: Who is John Rood?

A: Back in June and July, DC Comics sent most of their VP's (Including Jim Lee, Geoff Johns and Dan Dido) across the country to convince retailers to order huge on this and answer questions about the re-launch. I went to the one in Manhattan and came away feeling inspired. Everyone from DC was enthusiastic and you got the sense that it was "all hands on deck" for the re-launch. They were going to do everything possible to make this work, and if it didn't, people were going to get fired. That's not a joke; Didio laughed more than once about how his job was on the line.

But it was John Rood who got me thinking that the New 52 was going to be a success. Rood is DC"s Executive VP of Sales & Marketing. When it was his turn to speak, he talked about how DC was going to do newspapers, blogs, this and that, even some radio... and then he mentioned tv.

I sat up.

Over the last ten years, comics have gotten a tremendous amount of press in newspapers and magazines, but only the occasional mention on TV. Usually it's controversy, like when a Captain America comic criticized the Tea Party and Fox News gets upset.

But COMMERCIALS? On all of the Warner Bros. channels? That's a game-changer. Even with TiVO's and illegal downloading, lots of people still watch commercials.

That's when I knew this was going to be big.

There was also a number of returnability and cost-saving measures available to us from DC; that convinced David and I that we had a safety net to work from. If this didn't work, it wouldn't cripple the Den.

Q: So have you sold a lot of the New 52?

A: Tons. Just tons and tons and piles of comics. It's been heavenly.

Q: But you sold out of some..

A: Yeah, we're not perfect. We under-ordered on most of the Batman titles, and anything that ends with "-girl" or "-woman". Seems to be a trend, actually. In talking with other stores, the Batman titles were the first to go. Most of the first prints from the Batman family will be the hardest to find in the long run, I suspect.

Q: Do you think comic stores will go out of business like they did in the 90's, because of the New 52?

A: Not quite, no.

Q: Why?

A: There were numerous reasons comic stores closes in the 90's: Over-reliance on variant covers, late comics from Image, the distributor wars, over-ordering on X-Men #1, the move from the back-issue model to the bookstore/Graphic novel-model, there's no one definitive reason for the bust period of the 90's; it was a perfect storm of calamity.

But the New 52 #1's were under-ordered. Supply did NOT meet demand. Not even close. Stores didn't order enough, DC didn't print enough. End of story.

Q: What about digital comics?

A: I think we're at least a full generation away from paper comics dying. DC has proved that there's still plenty of life in paper comics and comic book stores.

We're not going anywhere.

Q: Are you going to offer digital through your website?

A: At some point, yes. However, the business agreement to offer DC's New 52 through the web was... well, it wasn't very good from a retail standpoint. Not going to spend a lot of time on that, other than to say it was onerous. Not something I wanted our name attached to.

Q: How many of the #1's have gone to 2nd printings?

A: All of them.

Q: All? Wow.

A: Yeah, and Justice League #1 is on the 4th printing. Batgirl is on the 3rd. Detective will get another print, as will others.

Q: You reviewed all of the #1's?

A: Yeah. You can find the reviews for Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, and Week 4.

Q: Any stand-outs from the New 52? What else did you think about them?

A: I have lots of thoughts.

Q: No kidding.

A: ....

I'll let that one go.

Some conclusions from the New 52:

*  From a sales and creative view, the Batman family did fantastic. Thumbs-up across the board. Batman #1 and Batwoman #1 were great. I didn't like Detective as much as everyone else, but that's just a matter of personal taste.

* I think some of the costumes were a little TOO 90's-esque. See Deathstroke, Teen Titans (hate the Kid Flash and Red Robin re-designs)

* There were a bunch of surprises: Frankenstein, Animal Man, Demon Knights and Swamp Thing were all solid reads. Animal Man, especially, was creepy as hell.

* The Legion books were a massive disappointment: Legion Lost needed a re-write. Legion of Super-Heroes looked gorgeous, but was NOT a good #1. Not getting these books right was a missed opportunity.

* I confess, the Green Lantern books didn't do much for me. Yes yes, I know, I'm a huge Red Lanterns mark, but I thought that was the best of the GL books. New Guardians wasn't bad, but Green Lantern didn't feel like a good starting point for new fans, and Green Lantern Corps was just there. The days of GL being DC's best-sellers are over, I think.

* Superman, Action Comics, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and the Flash were all home-runs. Great books all around,  but in different ways. The Aquaman scene (you know which one) was hilarious. Flash was gorgeous. Action Comics was Grant Morrisson doing his Golden Age pastiche. Wonder Woman was the first WW book I'd read in years that felt right.

* There's been some internet hub-bub about the sexual content in Catwoman and Red Hood. Between that and the violence in many of the books, I don't think most of the New 52 are appropriate for under-16 crowd.

* Great to see Justice League with Jim Lee on board, but it felt a little too decompressed. Not enough story for my tastes.

* Most of the New 52 ended on a cliffhanger. The era of decompressed storytelling is limping to a close, we're going to see more of this type of storytelling in the future.

Q: Speaking of Justice League, why does Hal have a ring there, but not in his own book?

A: One area DC really botched was explaining the timelines and continuity aspect of the New 52. In short: Action Comics is Year Zero for it's first story arc. Justice League is Year One for it's first story arc. Everything else is Year Five, or thereabouts.

Q: So what will happen with the #2's?

A: Well, we increased our order on some of them.

Q: Really?

A: Yeah, and I ordered bunches of the 2nd printings, although I don't think they'll be around for very long.

Q: More sell-outs? Does this mean my comics will be worth more?

A: Ah, er, um.. well, look. I can't deny there's serious secondary market action on some of these titles, but anyone looking at these as an investment should remember the Death of Superman. Those books aren't worth much more than cover price anymore, if that.

Q: So that's a 'no', then?

A: It's a warning.

 Gambling on collectibles is very risky. For my money, I'd buy the ones you enjoyed reading, stick 'em in a bag and board, and check e-bay once the collected editions come out. Or keep 'em forever. Or fold 'em up and put them in your back pocket. I've got a couple customers who do that.

Q: My last question is about Marvel.

A: Haha... yeah. Marvel.

Q: What are they going to do to compete?

A: Great question. Short answer: No idea. Long answer: They have to do something. They've been crowing about being the #1 publisher of comics for years and years. Those days are done, over, kaput. I look at my sales for the month, and every DC book outsold our best-selling Marvel titles (FF & Uncanny X-Force).

I also think there's something to be said about Marvel's $3.99 price point not matching the quality of some of their titles. Sometimes I read Avengers or a couple other Marvel titles, and put the book down 3 minutes later and say to myself "That's it? Really? Yeesh."

And I know I shouldn't say that (yet another reason why I don't review books much) but at the end of the day, I know that every dollar counts more than it has in years. I want you to enjoy what you buy, not make purchases out of inertia - aka "I've been buying this one forever", etc. I can always find a good comic to put in your hands, I promise. :)

Q: So what's next?

A: Next is Comic-Con in New York. The Dragon's Den will be in attendance. We'll be selling tons of games and gaming merchandise at Booth #2920. I'll be running around meeting people and getting publishers to buy me drinks. There's also a rumor we'll be giving away a complete set of the New 52 #1's. (I can neither confirm nor deny such a rumor.)

After NYCC... it's the holidays, and that's a whole 'nother level of craziness.

But in the meantime, it's an exciting time to be a fan of comics

-Scott.

(This post was written with the assistance of the music-based word editor OmmWriter and a well-rolled cigar. Thanks Garrett.)

New #1's (not from DC)

December 

Voltron #1  - The lions reunite in this new series from Dynamite.

Avengers X-Sanction #1 - The return of Cable and the lead-in to next year's big Marvel event.

Carnage USA #1 - The cult favorite character returns in another mini-series!

Fantastic Four #601 - Hickman's FF saga continues with the return of the Fantastic Four ongoing.

November

Star Wars Crimson Empire III #1 Empire Lost (Dark Horse) – The Imperial Guardsmen return.

Uncanny X-Men #1 – The last major Marvel/DC title to get a relaunch.

Avenging Spider-Man #1 – Joe Maduera returns!
Peanuts #0 - A new monthly series, and only for $1!
Flash Gordon: Zeitgeist #1 - Dynamite Fans rejoice! They're now publishing FG, too!
Fear Itself  #7 Point One - The after-effects of FI on Captain America after the death of Bucky.
Fear Itself  #7 Point Two - Iron Man and Odin square off.
Fear Itself  #7 Point Three - The solicitation says "THOR NO MORE".

October

Orchid #1 (Dark Horse) – Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine jumps into comics.

The Strange Talent of Luthor Strode #1 (Image) – New post-modern super-hero mini-series.

Penguin: Pain & Prejudice #1 (DC) – WAK WAK WAK. The history of the classic Batman villain.

Batman Odyssey Vol 2 #1 (DC) – Neil Adams returns to his Batman series.

Shade #1 (DC) – Starman fans, James Robinson returns. This should be 15 types of awesome.

Legion Secret Origin #1 (DC) – History of the Legion, plus get a Legion ring free.

Spaceman #1 (Vertigo) – Did you like Batman Knight of Vengeance? Same creative team.            

Fearless #1 (Marvel) – Mini-series that follows up on Fear Itself.

Incredible Hulk #1 (Marvel) – HULK HAVEN’T HAD NEW #1 IN AT LEAST TWO MONTHS. HULK SMASH!

Avengers 1959 #1 (Marvel) – Howard Chaykin writes and draws

Avengers Solo #1 (Marvel) – 2 stories: One featuring Hawkeye, the other featuring Avengers Academy.

Wolverine & The X-Men #1 (Marvel) – New x-title featuring Marvel’s least-seen character, Wolverine.

Star Trek/Legion of Super-heroes #1 (IDW) – This series needs to have Darkseid screaming “KHAN”.

30 Days of Night Ongoing #1 (IDW) – Steve Niles returns! The Maxx’s Sam Keith draws!

Dark Shadows #1 (Dynamite) – Barnabas Collins is back.

September

Annihilators Earthfall #1 (Marvel) – Marvel’s Cosmic characters take on the Avengers.

Ghostbusters #1 (IDW) – I’m singing the Ghostbusters theme as I type this. Billy Dee Forever.

Buffy TVS Season 9 #1 (Dark Horse) – Joss Whedon returns!

Star Trek #1 (IDW) – Takes place in the re-launched Abrams-verse.

John Carter Princess of Mars #1 (Marvel) – New Disney movie in March, here’s the Marvel adaptation

Ultimate X-Men #1 (Marvel) – Kitty puts the X-men together.

Ultimate Spider-Man #1 (Marvel) – With Peter Parker dead, Miles Morales takes over.
Game of Thrones #1 (Dynamite) - More George R.R. Martin goodness!
The New 52 (DC) - All 52 of the New #1's.

COMICS: A Conversation with Matt Fraction

The following features quotes and excerpts from a conversation I had with Matt Fraction, writer of Uncanny X-men, Invincible Iron Man, Thor, and the upcoming mega-event, FEAR ITSELF.

I got a phone call from Hawaii over the weekend. Matt Fraction, writer of the huge Marvel event, FEAR ITSELF was calling as part of a promotion with comic book stores, to answer questions and stir interest in the book.

"It's about something you've never seen before. It's a new story." - MF

"[Fear Itself's] about something you've never seen before. It's a new story." Matt told me.  "It's a war of the gods, that the heroes are [caught between]." Originally, he and Ed Brubaker were asked to do a Captain America/Thor mini-series to coincide with the movies this summer. The story quickly grew until it became something much bigger, "like Civil War", Fraction said.

"The new Red Skull [Sin] discovers that Odin is not the All-Father, as previously thought." He said. "She frees an ancient evil, who grants her god-like powers as thanks. This leads to Captan America and Thor's worst nightmare: For Cap, an ultra-powerful Red Skull with the power of a god; for Thor, it's the knowledge that everything he knew and believed is based on a lie. He [no longer] knows who he is."

"He is forced to choose between standing with men, or standing with gods."

I asked Matt about whether readers are going to be forced to buy the spin-offs and one-shots, and also about how hard it was going to be for new readers to jump into the event.

"You don't need a PhD in Marvel to read the books." He said. One of Marvel's goals was to make the book as "clean and accessible as possible, without writing down to older readers."

As for all the extra mini-series and one-shots, Fraction put it simply. "The spin-off's are all stand alone. If you love the character, you'll love the spin-off." At the same time, "You don't need to buy the extras to enjoy the whole event."

He implied that each issue of the main issue comes with something big happening, or an event. "I want there to be something big in every issue," he said, "We hear from readers that [they want] events that matter." He let slip that something huge happens in issue 3 that will bring about a lot of mainstream media.

(Don't tell anyone I said that.  :) )

"There is something to keep people excited in every issue," he continued. "We want this to work as a mini-series where you can't wait until the next issue."

Since Civil War was brought up as a comparison, I pointed out that Civil War shipped behind schedule for the last couple issues, due to medical issues involved with some of the creative talent. I asked how far they are in the process of putting the book together.

He admitted that they've already dealt with behind-the-scenes issues, but it hasn't affected production. He also pointed out none of the talent involved are known for falling behind. "We can't predict anything, but we're doing our best and [we're] not known for not producing." He told me that they're already into issue #4 of the main series, which puts them about 2-3 months ahead of where they should be at this point in the solicitation cycle.

Like Civil War, Fear Itself will have resounding effects on the Marvel Universe. "This book sets the tone for the MU for the next two years."

We'd like to thank Matt from taking time away from his vacation to call and chat.

--

Follow-up notes: I'm a big fan of Fraction's work on Uncanny X-men, Iron Man and Thor. Based on the way sale have gone on these books the last 6 months, many of you agree. He's done a great job putting out quality material, and getting it out on time.


In other interviews, the entire creative team has stressed how important this event is to Marvel and it's future, and how they didn't want the spin-off books to be absolutely necessary to enjoy the story. I believe that they're telling the truth, and believe that the event is going to be worth the money.


Fear Itself: Book of the Skull comes out this week.


We'll have copies.

-Scott.

Dwayne McDuffie February 20, 1962 – February 21, 2011

(I had a post queued up for this week, but somethings things change. -Scott)

One day after turning 49, industry icon Dwayne McDuffie passed away due to complications during surgery.

Known for his work in comics, tv, and animation, McDuffie was a long-time advocate for better representation of minorities. His work on the Justice League cartoon is beloved by fans of both tv and comics, and heralded as one of the great JLA stories of all time. The success of the cartoon is such that an entire generation of fans thinks of John Stewart as Green Lantern, not Hal or Kyle.

His influence in comics was equally profound. As one of the founders of Milestone Comics, McDuffie was instrumental in creating the character Static, who later got his own tv show, Static Shock.Through Milestone and Static, McDuffie used his career to introduce more diversity into comics; more people of color, more stories involving them, and better stories with them. This was a theme of McDuffie's work: diversity.

Besides his work on tv and with Milestone, McDuffie also wrote for Marvel and DC Comics, including the fan-favorite Damage Control.

Stories being told today speak of his generosity towards fans who'd approach him at con's, and the up-and-coming pro's who would reach out to him for advice. He was a creative icon with a passion and love of the characters that have entertained generations of comic fans. He leaves behind an industry full of those who'd benefited from his advice and his drive, and will be forever remembered as a trailblazer, in an industry that never has enough of them.

Looking Ahead: April Comics

[Looking Ahead is a monthly column where Scott scours Previews and highlights new and upcoming comics]

Greetings, earthlings! Lots of great stuff coming out, so let's get into it.

- The Fear Itself Prologue kicks off in March, followed by the first issue in April. This is Marvel's first major event since Secret Invasion, and they've put together a stellar creative team in Matt Fraction and Stuart Immonen. The storyline features the Red Skull's daughter, Sin, and the ancient Norse God of Evil. I'm happy that Fraction, who's become one of Marvel's go-to guys, and Immonen who is a workhorse and knows how to get product out on time, are working together. This is most likely going to be one of the two biggest events of the year.

Other Marvel Titles:

- Speaking of Matt Fraction, Thor relaunches with a new #1. I can imagine a couple people rolling their eyes right now, saying "Another #1 from Marvel? What a surprise." I can't lie, I feel the same way sometimes, but this is a book where you want to jump-on, not jump-off. The fact that Oliver Copiel is returning to Thor after a prolonged absence makes me very happy. His work with JMS for the first two years was stellar, and he's come a very long way since his Legion work for DC (see below).

- One of my favorite parts of the MU over the last couple years has been the Cosmic books. Annihilation, Annihlation Conquest, War of Kings and the recently-ended and supremely-awesome Thanos Imperative. Now, the writing team of Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning (aka DnA) are back with The Annihilators. Think of it as a group of ultra-powerful Cosmic Avengers, taking on the Dire Wraiths from the old Rom and the Spaceknights books. Yes, it is going to be that cool.

- Another book that may have dropped under your radar is the 5-issue Silver Surfer mini-series. While the Surfer has never been the most popular of characters or considered an "A-lister", he's the Herald of Galactus and that makes him a force to be reckoned with. Greg Pak is writing this series, and Pak is responsible for two of the best Hulk stories in years: Planet Hulk and World War Hulk.

Some very cool Marvel graphic novels being solicited:

- Thor: For Asgard is a treasure. Written by Robert Rodi and drawn by Simone Bianchi, this Thor mini-series flew under the radar due to all the other Thor products being released. Don't miss out! Robert Rodi also wrote the wonderful Loki story that's being re-printed in February as Thor & Loki: Blood Brothers. 

- Thunderbolts Classics Volume 1 was a great series written by Kurt Busiek about a group of super-villains masquerading to the world as super-heroes. I'm psyched to see this back in-print.

- Marvel goes old-school with X-Men Lifedeath and Spider-man The Death of Jean DeWolff, both published in their Hardcover Premiere Format.

Diving deeper into Previews, I found some real gems.:

- From Dark Horse Comics, Dark Horse Presents returns! The legendary anthology is back, with a sneak peek of Frank Miller's prequel to 300, Xerxes.

- Alan Moore: Storyteller features interviews, art, photos, and an audio cd by the legendary writer.

- There is a plethora of all-ages material being published every month. From Fraggle Rock Volume 2 to Boom! Studio's numerous Mickey Mouse softcovers to all the Archie material, there's a tremendous amount of great product available.

- Speaking of Mickey Mouse, long-time independent publisher Fantagraphics has acquired the license to some of the Mouse's earliest works. Published in a similar format as The Complete Peanuts, Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse Volume 1: "Race to Death Valley" is going to be the first of many reprints of this great material.

- In the mid-80's, Berkeley Breathed created a talking penguin named Opus and somehow turned his strip Bloom County into one of the great political newspaper comics of all time. Volume 4 of the Bloom County Complete Library has Steve Dallas getting his back broken by Actor Sean Penn. Ah, the 80's. Ack! Pthpw!

- Finally.  I have waited an eternity for these Legion stories to come out. A little back-story first: I was never a big Legion of Super-heroes fan (sorry, diehards); The large cast of characters, the epic back-story, it was all too intimidating. My personal tastes also veered towards stories that had a little edge to them, and the Legion always seemed bright and happy and cheerful.

Around ten years ago, DC decided that the Legion needed a shake-up, so they hired DnA and Oliver Copiel to wreak havoc on the LSH. Reprinted under the DC Comics Presents format, we see the first arc of their tremendous Legion run, Legion of the Damned, brought back in-print. When a Borg-like menace from deep space takes control of most of Earth and most of the Legion, the few remaining Legionairres are pushed to their limits in an effort to free their friends and everyone on earth from captivity. Featuring some of the first Big-Two work by Oliver Copiel.

The Legion of the Damned arc continues in one of my all-time favorite stories, Legion Lost. A group of Legion members are separated from their home galaxy in a freak accident. Lost, alone, and despondent, they're forced to find their way in alien space. As the 12-issue mini-series progresses, the team falls apart until the very end, when they're forced to face their very worst nightmare... and I'm not going to tell you what that is, because that'd just be cheating. You don't need to be a Legion fan to enjoy these stories.  Legion Lost will be published as a hardcover and comes with my highest "if you like science-fiction, the Legion, a great story, or any combination of the three" recommendation.

Free Events at the Dragon's Den

So we run several different FREE events at the Dragon's Den. Several of these events are run every week and can be found on our calendar of events, but others events run once a year and fall about the same time every year.  Here are some of the BIG once a year FREE events we host here at the Dragon's Den:


FREE Comic Book Day: Diamond comics offers to stores a chances to be a part of FREE Comic Book Day. We can offer many different comic books for FREE that day including Mavel, DC, Dark Horse, and many of the other independent publishers.  There are also some other give aways that stores can get including Heroclix minis, grading guides, and so much more.  We have also had several different artists and authors who have come in to do signings during the event.  This lists includes:
Herb Trimpe - Artist for the Hulk, and many more Marvel Comics
Mark Texeria - Artist for Ghost Rider, Moon Knight, and more
JM Dematteis - comic book and TV writer (Kraven's Last Hunt!) 
Nick Tapalansky - Writer Awakening
Alex Eckman-Lawn - Artist Awakening 

We are hoping to make this years FREE Comic Book Day even better then ever! We have a few great ideas to make this year memorable and exciting... but I'm not going to ruin the surprise and tell you about them now! You will need to come back in the future and read the blog or check our website!

FREE RPG Day: Impressions Advertising and Marketing has created this fantastic event and gets some of the best FREE RPGs for players to check out and play.  We used to just have some of the RPGs for handing out, but last year we started running some of the adventures during the event for players to try a new game! Over the past several years Pathfinder (Piazo), and Dungeons & Dragons (Wizards of the Coast) have offered up some fantastic FREE suppliments or adventures. Here is a list of some of the fantastic games or companies that had product for FREE RPG Day:
Dungeons & Dragons (Wizards of the Coast)
Pathfinder (Piazo)
Hollow Earth
Call of Cthulhu
Chessex

This years sponsors for the event are:

• BlackWyrm Games
  Sample HERO Adventure
• Blue Panther
  Sample Card Tower
• Eden Studios
  Silver, All Flesh Quickstart & Adventure
• Fantasy Flight Games
  Gold, TBA
• Goodman Games
  Silver, DCC RPG Quickstart
• Green Ronin
  TBD, DragonAge Quickstart
• Guild of Blades Publishing
• Paizo Platinum
  TBA
• Pelgrane Press
  TBD, Trail of Cthulhu Adventure
• Pinnacle
  TBD, TBA
• Troll Lord Games
  Bronze, C&C Quickstart and Adventure
• Valkyrie Games
  Sample, Stellar Horizons Quickstart
• White Wolf Publishing
  Gold (10 per box), TBA
• Wizards of the Coast
  Platinum (15 per box), D&D Adventure 

 Sean "Striderlotr" Banks